The Royal Oak

Visited today for the first time and will certainly be back. it's a no nonsense pub that serves great beer and excellent food. i absolutely detest the endless array of revolting ipa's and craft lagers that have taken over so many pubs in the last few years. none of that rubbish here - i tried the dark mild and black stout and both were excellent. i can also recommend the steak and ale pie which was full of tender meat in a rich gravy.

Welcoming pub owned by harvey's brewery. four cask ales, tried all four between us and all excellent quality. great to see a dark mild on. very good selection of bottled harvey's ales too.

Superb beer from harvey’s, enjoyed the mild, in particular. good buzz on a monday evening. the pies were very good, team at the bar very friendly. will return

Had some time to kill between errands the other week so paid a visit to a pub i've walked past only a handful of times but never popped into. a reoccurring theme with these posts. i've been to lewes more times this year than i have to this pub, no better than the source for @harveysbrewery but this is just as good. baffling it's taken me this long to go, maybe coincided with my growing re-appreciation of traditional styles (along with relative affordability), but simply, i didn't know this place existed until i took a wrong turn a month ago. this is the first pub purchased in london by harvey's back around 2010(?), but the history dates back *way* before that to 1898. good bones, split bar, and ample wooden seating, it's cosy yet spacious at the same time. 7-8 real ales on, i opted for the bonfire boy, a superb esb that brought smokiness and a warmth to a dreary december day. i think the kitchen has just changed over, no longer sandwiches and pub grub, it's lebanese menu from @lilwatan_ will have me coming back for sure. if not that, then £3 pints of mild on mondays should be the clincher. friendly service, nice and quiet (aside from the bloke eating crisps the loudest i've ever heard in my life), and the corner positioning with the vast windows, proximity to a very busy area make it a prime people watching spot. the very excellent gladstone arms is up the street from here too, so i won't begrudge you if that's your preferred venue, but next time you're in the area you should save space for a pint of harvey's at the royal oak. make it a monday, a #mildmonday and you're on for a winner.

A fine traditional pub, close to borough underground station. the royal oak offers a select range of beers both from the keg and the cask including a rarely seen. dark mild ready for pulling! lovely service and a very pleasant atmosphere made this a very enjoyable stop on a busy schedule.